Carn You Reds

With me old mucker The Cheeseman away on permanent St Louis duty, I have had to convert our recently traditioned Man Utd -v- Liverpool rivalry to another fresh local Premier League recruit. This Saturday morning Dave(id) and I will hunker down in front of the pay per view (Fox, you bastards) for the first bi-annual Red Devils v Tottenham grudge match.

Where We Can Win It: With an injury list greater than the number of fractures in Giggsies cheek, The Reds chances rest squarely on their ability to put in more goals than the opposition. And so far this season, that task has been taken up almost singularly by The Roos, Ruud and Rooney. Ronaldo's creative spark has not really ignited yet, and unlikely to burn this week as he is still recovering from a few personal distractions. Park Ji Sung though has shown a work-rate like no other, and I am pining for him to add a goal to his list of assists. Spurs also have a new Korean recruit, and this will be the first time the two national team mates have lined up against each other in the Premier League. I hope Fox own the pay-per-view rights in Korea, that'd take a little pressure off my wallet.

Where We Could Lose It: If it had been last year, the answer to this question would have been the always surprising Roy Carrol (pictured just after one of the greatest keeping blunders of 2004, immediately followed by one of the greatest linesman blunders of all-time). But Van Der Saar's form between the sticks has been excellent, so that's looking as secure as it has ever-been post-Schmeichel. Old Trafford is not the fortress it was in years gone by though, and with 3 backs out injured, we need Rio to be wearing his thinking cap. But our weakest area is midfield. Alan Smith has a long way to go to command the presence of missing Captain Keane, and Scholes has been far from dominant while failing to trouble the scorers.

I'm backin' United to eek out a one goal win over an opposition who are brimming with confidence, vaulting us over them into second place. The bet? Nothing more complicated than the loser having to cover the exorbitant pay-per-view fee!